Las Vegas Weekly

April 11, 2009 · 12:26 PM

Miss USA Photo Gallery: A sassy opening number and a male contestant

By Robin Leach

Miss USA 2009 contestants rehearse at the entrance of Planet Hollywood.

Photo: Greg Harbaugh

Taking a page out of the new adult burlesque Peepshow, the 51 Miss USA pageant princesses will peel off in their opening number for next Sunday’s live NBC telecast. And judging from rehearsals, it will be the hottest, sassiest dance routine ever staged for an American beauty pageant.

“It will be hot. It will be sexy,” I was told. “Think of it more as an MTV video dance routine than a Dancing With the Stars waltz! There’s never been a sexier opening dance number in our history.”

Last night, Miss USA assistant choreographer Stephani Kammer put the girls through their paces and masterminded the maneuvers as official photographer Greg Harbaugh captured these exclusive shots.

I learned that Miss USA President Paula Shugart ordered the hot and steamy opening number as a ratings grabber from the get-go to ensure that viewers who tuned in stayed without reaching for the clicker.

“We’ve got America’s most beautiful, talented girls, and the dance number lets them all shine with their best assets. Viewers won’t be going anywhere when they see this,” I was told.

The beautiful blondes and brunettes appear first in short bathrobes as they provocatively parade and prance over the stairs and forecourt of their home at Planet Hollywood. Then the glamour girls strip off the wraps to reveal sparkling bra tops and shorts underneath!

The “shake it, baby,” number, which is certain to raise eyebrows and create controversy, will be pre-recorded. That will enable the TV directors to cut right from the Planet Hollywood exterior to the stage at the resort’s Theatre for the Performing Arts, where all 51 contestants will be waiting to kick off the two-hour showdown.

The pageant participants and executives attended a preview performance of Peepshow earlier this week. Click HERE for our exclusive coverage yesterday of Peepshow with new photos of stars Mel B and Kelly Monaco and the gorgeous striptease dancers!

I’ve also learned that, as part of modern, cutting-edge Internet technology in the Miss USA Web site arsenal, a male contestant will be added as a viral-marketing surprise starting early next week. Known simply as Awesome, he is a genetically engineered perfect man, and his arrival in the pageant is both unique and bizarre. His adventures in all the categories of competition will turn up on YouTube and the Miss USA Web site starting Monday. I’ve got the first exclusive interview with him after he discovered a loophole in pageant regulations allowing him to compete.

Tonight, you can see the glamour girls close up with Awesome when they are filmed taking part in the Show in the Sky at The Rio. They will ride the ceiling-circulating fantasy floats for the TV cameras, and then the beauty queens will head up to the rooftop VooDoo Lounge on the 51st floor to take in the views of the nighttime Strip.

Check back to Vegas DeLuxe on Monday for our exclusive coverage of the final filming around town before they start onstage rehearsals for the pageant. I’m told that the highlights of their weeklong Vegas activities -- click HERE and HERE for our most recent coverage -- will be edited into 10 minutes for airing: a bonanza of free publicity for our resort convention city when we need it the most!

Real estate mogul Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, is set to arrive next weekend for the annual telecast. He and Paula Shugart have already confirmed that Miss USA will be back next year at Planet Hollywood.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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